Download this free St. Patrick's Day Coloring Page and print it off for the kids (and you!) to enjoy. Have some coloring fun to celebrate this holiday!

Completed St. Patrick's Day coloring page on clipboard sitting on a green table cloth with strawberries on it with a wooden shamrock and colored pencils near by.

Hand drawn St Patrick's Day Coloring Page for you!

I've been eager to create a St. Patrick's Day coloring page for you for your celebrations! It's a fun way to feature Irish culture and Irish traditions. Gather a few friends or family, color your drink green, and visit while coloring on St Patty's Day!

I loved hand drawing the St. Patrick’s Day free coloring page. I know I say this over and over again, but I think this is one of my favorites.

It works well to print the page on cardstock paper. Then you can color it with colored pencils, gel pens, use markers, or crayons without concern of it bleeding through as easily.

So go ahead and print one off for each person and don't forget to print one off for yourself! Here is the link to the free printable: St Patrick's Day Coloring Page free printable.

A kids memories of St Patrick's Day

I always thought St. Patrick’s Day was a fun holiday when I was growing up! The main thing I knew about the day when I was young was that it was Irish, and it included shamrocks and leprechauns and wearing green.

I sure didn’t want to forget to wear green and get pinched all day at school! 🙂 More than once a couple classmates and I did forget green and got several pinches on the bus or in class before grabbing something green to pin on our shirts or stuff in our pockets.

Uncolored St. Patrick's Day coloring page on a clip board resting on a green table cloth with strawberries on it with green colored pencils and a wooden shamrock near by.

Honoring the day with a coloring page

The whole holiday felt kind of random to me and never was fixed in my mind like February 14th, Valentine's Day. But over the years it has lodged firmly in my mind. I rarely forget it any more. Creating the coloring sheet was the perfect way to honor the day.

Symbols in the St Patrick's Day coloring page

These symbols and traditions came together well in the St Patrick's Day Coloring Page! Let me know what you think, especially if you are Irish! Well...we're all a bit Irish on March 17th, aren't we!

This great coloring page has all the ingredients that I usually think of when thinking of St. Patrick’s Day. Let's look at it more closely.

How many symbols and traditions do you know about and how many do you find in the drawing?

The rainbow

If you're going to have a rainbow you need a cloud, some rain, and some sunshine. Well there is enough cloud in the sky to make it possible for the sun to come out and bring a rainbow to the sky on our coloring sheet.

Rainbows are beautiful and yours will be special as you fill in the different colors of the rainbow.

Hand coloring shamrock green on St. Patrick's Day coloring page.

A pot of gold!

That rainbow comes down into a pot of gold, of course. Because we all know that the at the end of the rainbow is a pot of gold. This pot is brimming full of gold coins. I'd like to stuff my pockets full, wouldn't you?

The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow has become a symbol of the dream a person wants to accomplish, or the good fortune we hope comes into our lives.

A leprechaun

And who found the pot of gold? Why a mischievous leprechaun of course. And he’s doing a jig as he celebrates his discovery. He wants us all to know what a lucky leprechaun he is! He is wearing his top hat and pointed shoes. Will you color his hair and beard orange? I did.

I've never colored leprechaun coloring pages before. He was fun to draw.

Hand coloring in the sun on St. Patrick's Day coloring page.

The shamrock

A big feature to the left is a three leaf clover with a fun design for you to color. The 3 leaf clover is called a shamrock on March 17th. So this is also a shamrock coloring page- with lucky shamrocks for you to color.

My one disappointment is that I made them all three leaf clovers instead of adding a few four-leaf clovers! Never crossed my mind until it was all finished. Oh well.

It is really the four leaf clover that is considered "lucky". We will look at the traditional meaning of the three leaf shamrock later on.

The color green

The shamrock is where we get the green color that we are supposed to wear. People color everything green that day, even what they drink!

Many restaurants serve a special menu that day with traditional foods (American Irish traditional foods like corned beef and cabbage) and green drinks of all types.

And of course the kid in me will always pinch someone that isn't wearing some green on March 17th!

Hand putting finishing touches on leprechaun's orange beard in St. Patrick's coloring page.

St Patrick's Day at school or home

Are you considering a party with a fun St. Patricks Day theme? Maybe in school or for your family? This free printable St. Patrick's Day coloring page would work for kids of all ages (preK - 6th, middle school, or high school).

It would make an addition to a great St. Patrick's Day lesson, for indoor recess, or as a reward for early finishers of other projects.

The history of St. Patrick's Day

These are all the fun traditions I learned as a kid, but I also wondered about the deeper meaning behind the day, like who was St. Patrick?

When I did this coloring sheet, I realized I didn’t know very much about the holiday and why we celebrate it. So I thought I’d look it up and tell you a little bit about it! Here's what I found out with a bit of reading.

Hand putting finishing touches on pot of gold on St. Patrick's Day coloring page.

What happened in St. Patrick's early life?

St. Patrick was born in Britain in the fourth century, like around 387. There are some writings about him that are believed to be written by St. Patrick himself and this is where the information of his story is recorded.

When Patrick was 16 he was kidnapped by Irish raiders and brought to Ireland as a slave. He worked there as a shepherd for 6 years before escaping. During this time he came to have a faith in God.

He ran away to the coast and found a ship to take him back to Britain. He became a priest in the church.

Why is St. Patrick special to Ireland?

After some time In Britain he returned to Ireland as a missionary. He spent the rest of his life in Northern Ireland telling the people about God.

It is said that he used the three leaf clover to explain about the Holy Trinity. That is why the shamrock is special to the holiday.

The green shamrock is also why the color green became the St. Patrick's day color and is special that day.

Vertical image of completed St. Patrick's Day coloring page against a lime green backdrop with three colored pencils and a wooden shamrock near by.

March 17th is a cultural and church celebration

St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated on March 17 because that is the day that St. Patrick died in about 461. St. Patrick is the main patron saint of Ireland and some time later this day became an official church feast day (in the 1600s).

The holiday is celebrated in the church but is also a celebration of the Irish culture.

Many Irish people immigrated to America during and after the great famine (1850s) and brought the celebration here. Perhaps the immigrants used the holiday to remember their dear homeland.

St. Patrick's day was celebrated in America with church services, parades, music, food, and dancing. Perhaps more celebration than in Ireland until more recently (in the 1900s on).

Oh, and about that leprechaun...

I was surprised to learn that the leprechaun didn't become a big part of the celebration until the movie "Darby O'Gill and the Little People" was released in 1959.

The movie was set in Ireland and Darby encountered leprechauns in the story. Leprechauns were already a part of Irish folklore, but they became popular Irish symbols and added to the fun after that movie!

Wishing you a pot of gold at the end of your rainbow!

I'm hoping there are pots of gold for all of us to find on St Patricks Day. Well at least there is one at the end of a rainbow on each of our fun coloring sheets! Have a good time coloring the free printable St. Patrick's Day coloring page.

Happy St. Patrick's Day and happy coloring!

Completed St. Patrick's Day coloring page sitting on a green table cloth with strawberries on it with wooden shamrock near by.

Would you like more free coloring pages?

Check these out! Each pdf file is ready to print off and of course they are free for your personal use.

Enjoy!

If you try this craft, let me know! Go ahead and leave a comment, rate it, and tag a photo with #WelcometoNanas wherever you post.

Come join the fun at https://welcometonanas.com

Supplies for the Cute St Patrick's Day Coloring Page

Cardstock paper in white
Copy of the free printable: St Patrick's Day Coloring Page free printable (one per person)
Colored pencils, crayons, gel pens, or colored markers